Marine propulsion is the mechanism or system used to generate thrust to move

a ship or boat across water. While paddles and sails are still used on some smaller boats, most

modern ships are propelled by mechanical systems consisting of an electric motor or engine turning
a propeller, or less frequently, in pump-jets, an impeller. Marine engineering is the discipline
concerned with the engineering design process of marine propulsion systems.
Manpower, in the form of paddles, and sail were the first forms of marine propulsion. Rowed galleys,
some equipped with sail, also played an important early role. The first advanced mechanical means
of marine propulsion was the marine steam engine, introduced in the early 19th century. During the
20th century it was replaced by two-stroke or four-stroke diesel engines, outboard motors, and gas
turbine engines on faster ships. Marine nuclear reactors, which appeared in the 1950s, produce
steam to propel warships and icebreakers; commercial application, attempted late that decade,
failed to catch on. Electric motors using electric battery storage have been used for propulsion
on submarines and electric boats and have been proposed for energy-efficient propulsion.[1]
Development in liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueled engines are gaining recognition for their low
emissions and cost advantages. Stirling engines, which are quieter, smoother running, propel a
number of small submarines in order to run as quietly as possible. Its design is not used in civilian
marine application due to lower total efficiency than internal combustion engines or power turbines.

Contents

 1Power sources
o 1.1Pre-mechanisation
o 1.2Reciprocating steam engines
o 1.3Steam turbines
 1.3.1LNG carriers
 1.3.2Nuclear-powered steam turbines
o 1.4Turbo-electric transmission
o 1.5Diesel
o 1.6Reciprocating diesel engines
o 1.7LNG Engines
o 1.8Gas turbines
o 1.9Stirling engines
o 1.10Electric
 2Propulsion types
o 2.1Propeller
o 2.2Paddle wheel
o 2.3Pump jet
o 2.4Sail
o 2.5Voith-Schneider cyclo-rotor
o 2.6Caterpillar
 3Buoyancy
 4See also
 5References

Power sources[edit]
Pre-mechanisation[edit]

A wind propelled fishing boat in Mozambique

Until the application of the coal-fired steam engine to ships in the early 19th century, oars or
the wind were the principal means of watercraft propulsion. Merchant ships predominantly used sail,
but during periods when naval warfare depended on ships closing to ram or to fight hand-to-
hand, galley were preferred for their manoeuvrability and speed. The Greek navies that fought in
the Peloponnesian War used triremes, as did the Romans at the Battle of Actium. The development
of naval gunnery from the 16th century onward vaulted broadside weight ahead of manoeuvrability;
this led to the dominance of the sail-powered warship over the following three centuries.
In modern times, human propulsion is found mainly on small boats or as auxiliary propulsion on
sailboats. Human propulsion includes the push pole, rowing, and pedals.
Propulsion by sail generally consists of a sail hoisted on an erect mast, supported by stays, and
controlled by lines made of rope. Sails were the dominant form of commercial propulsion until the
late nineteenth century, and continued to be used well into the twentieth century on routes where
wind was assured and coal was not available, such as in the South American nitrate trade. Sails are
now generally used for recreation and racing, although innovative applications
of kites/royals, turbosails, rotorsails, wingsails, windmills and SkySails's own kite buoy-system have
been used on larger modern vessels for fuel savings.

Reciprocating steam engines[edit]

SS  Ukkopekka uses a triple expansion steam engine

How a Triple expansion steam engine works

Main article: Marine steam engine

The development of piston-engined steamships was a complex process. Early steamships were
fueled by wood, later ones by coal or fuel oil. Early ships used stern or side paddle wheels, which
gave way to screw propellers.
The first commercial success accrued to Robert Fulton's North River Steamboat (often
called Clermont) in US in 1807, followed in Europe by the 45-foot (14 m) Comet of 1812. Steam
propulsion progressed considerably over the rest of the 19th century. Notable developments include
the steam surface condenser, which eliminated the use of sea water in the ship's boilers. This, along
with improvements in boiler technology, permitted higher steam pressures, and thus the use of
higher efficiency multiple expansion (compound) engines. As the means of transmitting the engine's
power, paddle wheels gave way to more efficient screw propellers.
Multiple expansion steam engines became widespread in the late 19th century. These engines
exhausted steam from a high pressure cylinder to a lower pressure cylinder, giving a large increase
in efficiency.[2]

Steam turbines[edit]
Steam turbines were fueled by coal or, later, fuel oil or nuclear power. The marine steam
turbine developed by Sir Charles Algernon Parsons[3] raised the power-to-weight ratio. He achieved
publicity by demonstrating it unofficially in the 100-foot (30 m) Turbinia at the Spithead Naval
Review in 1897. This facilitated a generation of high-speed liners in the first half of the 20th century,
and rendered the reciprocating steam engine obsolete; first in warships, and later in merchant
vessels.
In the early 20th century, heavy fuel oil came into more general use and began to replace coal as
the fuel of choice in steamships. Its great advantages were convenience, reduced manpower by
removal of the need for trimmers and stokers, and reduced space needed for fuel bunkers.
LNG carriers[edit]
New liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers continue to be built with steam turbines. The natural gas is
stored in a liquid state in cryogenic vessels aboard these ships, and a small amount of "boil-off" gas
is needed to be constantly withdrawn in order to maintain the pressure and temperature inside the
vessels within operating limits. The boil-off gas provides the fuel for the ship's boilers, which further
provide steam for the turbines, the simplest way to deal with the excessive boil-off gas. However,
technology to operate internal combustion engines (modified marine two-stroke diesel engines) on
this gas has improved, and such engines are starting to appear in LNG carriers.
Also constantly improving tank designs allow reaching greater thermal efficiency, therefore less boil-
off naturally occurs. Developments have also been made in the process of re-liquifying boil-off gas,
letting it be returned to the cryogenic tanks as a liquid. The financial returns on LNG are potentially
greater than the cost of the marine-grade fuel oil burnt in conventional diesel engines, so the re-
liquefaction process is starting to be used on diesel engine propelled LNG carriers. Another factor
driving the change from turbines to diesel engines for LNG carriers is the shortage of steam turbine
qualified seagoing engineers. With the lack of turbine powered ships in other shipping sectors, and
the rapid rise in size of the worldwide LNG fleet, not enough have been trained to meet the demand.
It may be that the days are numbered for marine steam turbine propulsion systems, even though all
but sixteen of the orders for new LNG carriers at the end of 2004 were for steam turbine propelled
ships.[4]
NS  Savannah was the first nuclear-powered cargo ship

Nuclear-powered steam turbines[edit]

Main article: Nuclear marine propulsion
In these vessels, the nuclear reactor heats water to create steam to drive the turbines. When first
developed, very low prices of diesel oil limited nuclear propulsion's commercial attraction. The
advantages of its fuel-price security, greater safety and low emissions were unable to overcome the
higher initial costs of a nuclear power plant. In 2019, nuclear propulsion is rare except in
some Navy and specialist vessels such as icebreakers. In large aircraft carriers, the space formerly
used for ship's bunkerage is used instead to bunker aviation fuel. In submarines, the ability to run
submerged at high speed and in relative quiet for long periods holds obvious advantages. A few
naval cruisers have also employed nuclear power; as of 2006, the only ones remaining in service are
the Russian Kirov class. An example of a non-military ship with nuclear marine propulsion is
the Arktika-class icebreaker with 75,000 shaft horsepower (55,930 kW). In an ice-breaker, an
advantage is fuel security and safety in demanding arctic conditions. The commercial experiment of
the NS  Savannah ended before the dramatic fuel price increases of the 1970s. The Savannah also
suffered from an inefficient design, being partly for passengers and partly for cargo.
In recent times, there is some renewed interest in commercial nuclear shipping. Fuel oil prices are
now much higher. Nuclear-powered cargo ships could lower costs associated with carbon dioxide
emissions and travel at higher cruise speeds than conventional diesel powered vessels.[5]

Turbo-electric transmission[edit]
Turbo-electric transmission uses electric generators to convert the mechanical energy of a turbine
(steam or gas) into electric energy and electric motors to convert it back into mechanical energy to
power the driveshafts. An advantage of turbo-electric transmission is that it allows the adaptation of
high-speed turbines to slow turning propellers or wheels without a heavy and complex gearbox. It
has the advantage of being able to provide electricity for the ship or train's other electrical systems,
such as lighting, computers, radar, and communications equipment.

The battleship USS  New Mexico, launched in 1917, was the World's first turbo-electric battleship.
Diesel[edit]
In the second half of the 20th century, rising fuel costs almost led to the demise of the steam turbine.
Most new ships since around 1960 have been built with diesel engines, both Four or two-Stroke. The
last major passenger ship built with steam turbines was Fairsky, launched in 1984. Similarly, many
steam ships were re-engined to improve fuel efficiency. One high-profile example was the 1968
built Queen Elizabeth 2 which had her steam turbines replaced with a diesel-electric propulsion plant
in 1986.
Most new-build ships with steam turbines are specialist vessels such as nuclear-powered vessels,
and certain merchant vessels (notably Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and coal carriers) where the
cargo can be used as bunker fuel.

Reciprocating diesel engines[edit]

A modern diesel engine aboard a cargo ship

Intake and exhaust flow in a 2-stroke heavy-dutydiesel engine

Most modern ships use a reciprocating diesel engine as their prime mover, due to their operating
simplicity, robustness and fuel economy compared to most other prime mover mechanisms. The
rotating crankshaft can be directly coupled to the propeller with slow speed engines, via a reduction
gearbox for medium and high speed engines, or via an alternator and electric motor in diesel-electric
vessels. The rotation of the crankshaft is connected to the camshaft or a hydraulic pump on
an intelligent diesel.
The reciprocating marine diesel engine first came into use in 1903 when the diesel
electric rivertanker Vandal was put into service by Branobel. Diesel engines soon offered greater
efficiency than the steam turbine, but for many years had an inferior power-to-space ratio. The
advent of turbocharging however hastened their adoption, by permitting greater power densities.
Diesel engines today are broadly classified according to

 Their operating cycle: two-stroke engine or four-stroke engine

 Their construction: crosshead, trunk, or opposed piston
 Their speed
o Slow speed: any engine with a maximum operating speed up to 300 revolutions per
minute (rpm), although most large two-stroke slow speed diesel engines operate below
120 rpm. Some very long stroke engines have a maximum speed of around 80 rpm. The
largest, most powerful engines in the world are slow speed, two stroke, crosshead diesels.
o Medium speed: any engine with a maximum operating speed in the range 300–
1000 rpm. Many modern four-stroke medium speed diesel engines have a maximum
operating speed of around 500 rpm.
o High speed: any engine with a maximum operating speed above 1000 rpm.

4-Stroke Marine Diesel Engine System

Most modern larger merchant ships use either slow speed, two stroke, crosshead engines, or
medium speed, four stroke, trunk engines. Some smaller vessels may use high speed diesel
engines.
The size of the different types of engines is an important factor in selecting what will be installed in a
new ship. Slow speed two-stroke engines are much taller, but the footprint required is smaller than
that needed for equivalently rated four-stroke medium speed diesel engines. As space above the
waterline is at a premium in passenger ships and ferries (especially ones with a car deck), these
ships tend to use multiple medium speed engines resulting in a longer, lower engine room than that
needed for two-stroke diesel engines. Multiple engine installations also give redundancy in the event
of mechanical failure of one or more engines, and the potential for greater efficiency over a wider
range of operating conditions.
As modern ships' propellers are at their most efficient at the operating speed of most slow speed
diesel engines, ships with these engines do not generally need gearboxes. Usually such propulsion
systems consist of either one or two propeller shafts each with its own direct drive engine. Ships
propelled by medium or high speed diesel engines may have one or two (sometimes more)
propellers, commonly with one or more engines driving each propeller shaft through a gearbox.
Where more than one engine is geared to a single shaft, each engine will most likely drive through a
clutch, allowing engines not being used to be disconnected from the gearbox while others keep
running. This arrangement lets maintenance be carried out while under way, even far from port.